Pruning trees and shrubs: Getting started

Pruning trees and shrubs: Getting started

Outline Three Things to Remember When Do I Prune? Buddology 101 Where do I Prune Pruning Young Trees Pruning Older Trees Tree Topping Pruning Shrubs & Hedges Philosophy of Tree Pruning

Three things to remember 1. Be Safe 2. Use the Proper Tools for the Job 3. Ask Why are You Pruning that Tree?

1. Be Safe* Safety (PPE**) a) Gloves b) Boots c) Hat d) Eye protection for power equipment * Garden 3 rd most dangerous place around the home **proper protective equipment

2. Use Proper Tools Proper Equipment* a) Pruners b) Loppers c) Saw d) Pole pruner e) Hedge pruner f) Chainsaw *For best results make sure they are sharp!

3. Why are You Pruning that Tree? Reasons: a) Tree health (enhancing health) b) Safety (enhancing safety) c) Aesthetics/fruit production (enhancing beauty) d) Make work project? Before the equipment comes out, remember these basic concepts: Each cut has the potential to change the tree forever. Removal of branches and limbs affects the tree s ability to gather sunlight for food production. Large limb removal can impact form and geometry, affecting stability. Inconsiderate removal of branches can leave the tree susceptible to decline.

When Do I Prune My Tree(s)?? DEAD: Diseased and damaged wood can be removed anytime of year, as needed. JANUARY TO MARCH: Young or weak growing trees and shrubs, summer blooming shrubs such as roses, hardy hibiscus (rose of Sharon), and summer blooming spiraeas. Winter is also a time to prune many types of fruit trees. Winter pruning makes trees and shrubs grow more strongly because it reduces the number of buds that share the food stored in the roots APRIL TO MAY: Spring flowering trees and shrubs such as azaleas, camellias, daphne, forsythia, lilacs, rhodos, ornamental cherries, plums, deciduous magnolias and crabapples are pruned after they finish blooming. Prune too late, and you will cut off next years flower buds. Also, needle / broad-leaf evergreens can be pruned or sheared. JUNE TO AUGUST: Overgrown or neglected deciduous flowering or fruit trees and shrubs, suckers and watersprouts, faded flowers on summer blooming plants like roses and spiraeas. Also, needle-leaf and broad-leaf evergreens can be pruned or sheared. SEPTEMBER TO OCTOBER: Not the best time to prune and only if very necessary. NOVEMBER TO FEBRUARY: Time to prune perennials and shrubs that die back over winter. DROUGHT: Do not remove live wood from trees in drought stress. This removes stored photosynthates that the tree is living on during the stress.

BUDDOLOGY 101

New shoots: Where do I Prune?

Where do I Prune? Cut just above a bud Cut above a side branch Thin by cutting a stem back to a main branch Cut stem all the way to the base or ground Never prune to leave long stubs Never use sealants, wound paints or WD- 40 on pruning cuts

Where do I Prune? Branch Collar

Where do I Prune Branch Collar

Where do I Prune? Branch Collar

Pruning Young Trees

Pruning Young Trees

Pruning Older Trees Terminology Cleaning: a pruning method where only dead/diseased/broken branches may be removed. Often confused with crown thinning. Crown Raising: a method of pruning to provide clearance for pedestrians, vehicles, buildings, lines of sight, and vistas by removing lower branches. Crown Reduction: a method of pruning used to reduce the height of a tree. Branches are cut back to laterals that are at least one-third the diameter of the limb being removed. Crown Thinning: a method of pruning to increase light penetration and air movement through the crown of a tree by selective removal of branches. Not more than 30% of the live crown

Pruning Older Trees

Tree Topping

Tree Topping 1. Bark 2. Cambium 3. Early wood 4. Late wood 5. Heartwood 6. Pith

Pruning Shrubs

Pruning Shrubs Thinning Thinning: Cut out wayward branches, take out thin growth, remove suckers (stems growing up from the roots) and water sprouts (upright shoots growing from the trunk and branches).

Pruning Shrubs Heading Back/Shearing Shearing your shrubs helps to contain their growth, to give the plants a particular form and to maintain overall health. It involves cutting only the top bits of the shrubs' new growth. You generally employ this technique if you want to achieve a formal, tailored hedge shape

Philosophy of Pruning Trees A properly pruned tree looks as natural as possible; that is to say, the tree s appearance reflects its fundamental form and character. The pruner must be sensitive to maintaining this structural integrity, in addition to knowing a bit about tree biology and proper pruning principles! (OSU Extension Service ) So before the equipment comes out, remember these basic concepts: Each cut has the potential to change the tree forever. Removal of branches and limbs affects the tree s ability to gather sunlight for food production. Large limb removal can impact form and geometry, affecting stability. Inconsiderate removal of branches can leave the tree susceptible to decline.